Pricing rules to be issued vs travel apps

MANILA, Philippines —  Online travel agencies (OTAs) will soon be required to follow a price ceiling aimed at protecting travelers from overcharging following the fare complaint raised against AirAsia’s booking arm.

AirAsia Move CEO Nadia Omer yesterday said the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) is planning to release guidelines on fair pricing for OTAs like AirAsia Move and third-party suppliers.

Omer said this was the outcome of the hearing led by CAB investigating why AirAsia Move allegedly charged as much as P39,000 per guest, one way, for Manila-Tacloban flights.

During the CAB hearing, Omer said AirAsia Move was unaware it has to comply with the price ceiling applied to airlines when selling plane tickets. The platform vowed to update its system within three months to correct the pricing.

CAB, for its part, is eyeing to issue guidelines mandating OTAs to comply with the price ceiling and prevent possible overcharging. Omer said AirAsia Move would abide by these guidelines as soon as CAB publishes them.

AirAsia Move spokesman Ana Alexandra Castro said the company admits to communication and knowledge gaps that led its platform to generate the overpriced ticket.

Castro, however, clarified that OTAs are only responsible for the marketing of plane seats, noting that airlines and their distributors are primarily in charge of the pricing.

To date, AirAsia Move is still up and running in the Philippines even as it was threatened with a takedown by the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon wants to file a case of economic sabotage against AirAsia Move, saying it is criminal for the platform to charge that much in a period when Tacloban is facing a transport crisis. Currently, the government is enforcing a three-ton load limit in the San Juanico Bridge to make way for repairs.

This restriction has prevented buses and trucks from crossing, causing logistical problems. CAB executive director Carmelo Arcilla said AirAsia Move may be involved in price gouging, or the practice of hiking prices to exploit an extraordinary crisis.

Omer denied the allegation that AirAsia Move is deliberately increasing fares to take advantage of the situation in Leyte, where Tacloban is located.

AirAsia Move, operating as an OTA, provides booking access to more than 700 airlines and one million hotels across the world.